Papua

Then we asked him, “Do you work for P.T Freeport Indonesia?” And he
answered “yes, I do”.

So responding to that we asked, “Who is the president of Freeport?”
Rick is very quick and answered “Mr. Richard”.

We can't keep up with his speed, so we asked slower, “how many expats
work for those primary employers you answered
earlier?” Well this one stumped him, 10 seconds later he answered “approximately
300”.

Curious, we asked him “What is the total work force including expats
and nationals?”. Well Rick certainly knew the answer to this one. With
great speed and accuracy he answered “approximately 12,500”

Well, settling down, getting close to the end of the interview, we
relaxed and starting asking and answering a little slower. We asked, “What
kind of work do those companies do?” Well Rick got hyper and answered “Freeport
mines and mills copper and gold/NPS creates power for the mine and town/Trakindo
sells and fixes the heavy mobile equipment/and P&O does transportation
and shipping for Freeport.”

Now for the last question! “Is there anything that you think any
new expats should know before they come here?” Well settling down for the
last question he answers “Expect the unexpected.”. Well, bye now. Hope
you enjoyed reading this information.

Today we're here at Bryce's house and we're going to give an extensive
interview. Right now we are interviewing Shelley. Today we ask her “How
do you feel the main expat employers are doing in general?”

“They are still running considering these hard times with copper
and gold low” Shelley answered. Then we asked her “How do you feel about
the town?” And she answered “I feel the town has good facilities, good
water and power, and the water and power are quite consistent”.

So responding to that we asked, “Do you have anything to say to the
expats to come?” Shelley is very quick and answered “This place is not
a big center but has a lot to offer considering where we live, and patience
is a virtue”.

Well nearing the end we asked “Could you please name four people you know
who work for those primary employers?” “Mr. Charlie, Mr. Graham, my husband
Rick, and Mr. Ron”. She replied getting ready for the last question. Now
for the last question. “Will you give us a few words of how you think
the employers of expats will do in the future?” Ready she was for the
last question. She answered “I think there will be less expats as more
nationals become trained.” Well now we leave Bryce's house and move, but
that's all we have time for, so good-bye everybody.

Housing

The houses in Kuala Kencana are good in some ways and in some ways are
bad. All the houses are different in shape and size. The main types of
houses are A, B and Cs some have bigger porches and some have smaller living
rooms or bigger kitchens. They measure either 140 square meters or 160
meters.

I will interviewed an ordinary housewife and then a student from
the International School of Kuala Kencana.

My first question was “how do you feel about the houses and are they
suitable to live in?” She answered by saying that the houses are adequate,
they have three bedrooms and two bath rooms and are fully furnished. They
are also fitted with lights and some of the lights are fitted with dimmer
switches.

“How does the power effect the house?” The power goes out but not
a lot maybe twice a month, also it goes out if to many appliances are in
use then the house blacks out the thing to do is to turn off all appliances
and go outside, find the electricity board and flip the orange switch.

Now for the last and final question “how do you feel about maintenance?”
She said that the maintenance is good but also tardy.

There is one other thing about the houses, My interviewee suggested
that all the houses should be the same, in size and contents.

The next day I went to school and interviewed a student . We sat and I asked
the same questions. The student liked the houses and thinks they are good
for a family of four and five. He liked that the houses were already furnished.
Then I asked him about house maintenance he said they could get the work
done but are very late and they need improving. In addition, to say where
we live the electricity and water are very reliable.

Shopping in Kuala Kencana

My topic is on shopping in Kuala Kencana and I'll be talking mainly
about the grocery store and the department store. I've interviewed an adult
and a student.

So as you may have already guessed shopping in Kuala Kencana can
be a totally different experience to shopping in the Western World. First of all there's a grocery store, a department store, a bakery, bank,
post office and a hair and beauty salon. They provide your basic
needs, but sometimes run out of potatoes, carrots, fruit, vegetables and
sometimes even chicken.

Most people think all the essential items are in the shop but a lot
of kids think that it needs more sweets or candy. The pricing of
groceries over here is quite expensive compared to America or Australia
but because we are so isolated it's O.K. The products are generally
fresh but on the shelves their are a few things which have passed their
use-by date, or the cheese and fruit can be a bit mouldy.

The staff are lovely and friendly and are very approachable. The department
store is well stocked and in it is clothes, including shoes and both Indonesian
and western style clothing. There are also native art creations, linen,
electronics, whiteware and toys. The pricing is very reasonable. The condition
of the buildings are good even in this heat. So all in all the shopping
center is a good facility even in this heat.

Utilities in Kuala Kencana

The utilities here are probably just as good as anywhere else in Jakarta
or Indonesia. They may even be better. The Internet connection here is
reliable and quick.

There is one power plant here with three generators and due to natural
causes we have power outs every two - three months. Either a frog jumps
on the circuit board and fries it or a tree falls on a power line. Many
things have happened for the power to go out. In the last two weeks we
have had five power outages. One year ago, due to El Nino, there was a
drought where there was no rain for two months. People could not flush
the toilets unless really needed. The water for showers and sinks was only
on for two hours a day. There are not many problems with the utilities
aside from natural causes.

The hospitals here are just as good as any town this size in the
U.S. and probably better than one this size in Indonesia. The hospital
here can handle the deadly snake bites that we so rarely get and minor
stuff like broken bones. We are so isolated though that were there any
emergencies we would have to fly them to Singapore or Darwin. To fly to
either of those places it takes hours.

A few months ago I broke my arm and even though they had reset it
in place and put a cast on it. They still had to fly me to Singapore to
check that they had set it right.

There are lots of malaria-carrying mosquitoes here so we have a malaria
control team. They spray the air and try to cure and control the malaria
here. Since we have malaria control there is little malaria here but in
neighboring towns there are big problems with malaria. All in all we have
pretty good medical care here.

Facilities

Most of the facilities in Kuala Kencana are okay, but considering the
area the Kuala Kencana is located in, the facilities are excellent. Nearly
all the facilities in Kuala Kencana are good, but in particular the swimming
pool and golf club are definitely over average. But of course nobody or
nothing is perfect, and the same applies to the recreational areas of Kuala
Kencana too.

The golf course, (eighteen holes) which was designed by a pro, is
very good compared to ordinary courses, and is considered one of the best
in Asia. The fairway grass is smooth, but in some areas, a bit damp. There
is a driving range to practice your swing, as well as a sand bunker and
a putting green. Even beginners will find it east to start as there is
a professional golfer to assist, for a very low price. In fact they're
prices are so cheap that I don't know how they profit! The layout is perfect
and easy to get around, but of course, the course has it's plunge.

The biggest and one of the few downfalls they have is their
restaurant. Although their food is generally fast and they have a variety
of food, their food in not very efficient and neither the satisfaction
to the tongue. But overall, as I mentioned before, Club Rimba (the name
of the golf club) is not only good quality, but also very fun for children
and adults.

The Olympic sized swimming pool has, is, and always will be a friendly
place to go for a swim. Whether swimming, dunking your friends, or playing
British bulldogs in the mini-pool all ages will find this place very good
fun. Of course these are all mostly children things. Adults would prefer
diving, swimming, or just chatting. For children there are the many floats
and accessories including dive sticks, rings, kick boards, or hot dogs.

The kids shouldn't have any trouble finding fun here. The swimming
pool will bring wonders to the body, at the same time as bringing fun to
the mind. There are many other facilities by the swimming pool. These
are the gym, ping pong room, baseball field, soccer field, tennis and squash
courts, and farther away, the basketball and badminton courts, as well
as the bowling alley. These are all average except the bowling alley which
seems to crash a lot. You might get the idea Kuala Kencana is only sport,
but there is a library, some shops, crafts lessons, and some other quiet
things.

Consider the remoteness of the area, and the several flaws that Kuala Kencana
holds will become insignificant. From an adult's point of view to a child's
point of view, it will take you quite some time to get bored of Kuala
Kencana.

Dining in Kuala Kencana

My topic is about the dining in Kuala Kencana. I interviewed a few people,
and they helped a lot. With my own input and with the help of the people
I interviewed, I was able to put this together.

The dining here has a lot of variety, and food from all over the
world. The food gets to the customers at a reasonable time; half an hour
or less. Also, everything is at a reasonable price, and the restaurants
are usually very clean. Some examples are The Asean Restaurant and
the Golf Club. The Asean Restaurant's most popular food is its Special
Fried Rice. The food there is mainly from all over Asia.

The Golf Club has more of a Western variety, such as hamburgers,
chicken fingers, french fries, steaks, and sandwiches. They also have some
good Indonesian food, though.

Another place people like to go to eat is a hotel called the Sheraton.
It has a nice, clean restaurant and a pool. The pool has a bar where you
can order food, and have it sent to you while you sit lazily by the poolside.
In conclusion, the dining here in Kuala Kencana is much appreciated by
everyone.

Our thanks to Bryce, Jason, Victoria, Eamonn, Emma, Oliver and
Mark of the MT. Zaagham International School inKuala
Kencana for their help in preparing this information on expat life
in Kuala Kencana, Papua.